The soles of wack folks: Nike scrapping a Betsy Ross flag-inspired shoe is a cowardly cave to Colin Kaepernick

With Nike recalling a limited edition Fourth of July sneaker — due to complaints by their million-dollar pitchman Colin Kaepernick — the shoe-maker has put its foot into it, buying a phony charge about American history.

The Air Max 1 USA heel was to feature the Betsy Ross flag — a banner of 13 red and white stripes with 13 white stars in a blue circle — created, goes the legend, during the American Revolution by Betsy’s needle in 1776. Kaepernick doesn’t like it because slavery existed back then.

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But no one has ever linked Mrs. Ross or her flag to slavery. We are unaware of any evidence she employed slaves in her Philadelphia home or at her upholstery shop.

Kaepernick has a right to kneel in protest during the national anthem, for good or for ill. And Nike, as a private company, can do as it pleases. But why?

If, as some claim, the Betsy Ross banner has been appropriated by white supremacists, the Nike shoe could have been a fine way to yank back its appropriation. Also, the Betsy Ross flag-creation story, perhaps apocryphal, nonetheless places a woman at the heart of America’s Founding — important itself.

Instead, Nike misses an opportunity by allowing itself to be tread on by Kaepernick’s fears.